Art World
Wet Paint in the Wild: Colby Mugrabi Peddles Non-Fungible Fashion in Marfa
The designer takes us through a week in her life.
by
Annie Armstrong
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Welcome to Wet Paint in the Wild, the freewheeling—and free!—spinoff of Artnet News Pro’s beloved Wet Paint gossip column, where we give art-world insiders a disposable camera to chronicle their lives on the circuit. To read the latest Wet Paint column, click here (members only).
Colby Mugrabi, the wife of mega-collector Tico Mugrabi, has had her own business aspirations for many years now: you may recall her painted seashell project “Consumerism Ashore,” or the fashion blog “Minnie Muse.” Her latest venture is a “non-fungible fashion” line called mmERCH, which is comprised of singular designs that have their singularity recorded on the blockchain (what better way to confirm you’ll never be an outfit repeater?). Mugrabi headed to Marfa, Texas, to promote the line, and brought along a disposable camera with her. Let’s see what she got up to…
The last leg of my journey from New York City to West Texas; a scenic 3-hour drive from El Paso to Marfa.
PSA: Never leave home without your mmERCH. Unpacking three prototype hoodies I brought for my weekend travels.
First stop, dinner at Margaret’s, hosted by Dani Loftus (pictured), founder of digital fashion platform Draup, and Ledger’s Ian Rogers.
Glitch Gallery, the epicenter of ArtBlocks’ Marfa weekend, founded by my friend Derek Edwards Schloss.
Foliage on fleek.
Chance encounters; catching up with my dear friend and PROOF founder, Kevin Rose (center).
Ed Balloon posing with a mmERCH Scratch-off lottery ticket. We made 500 cards for the weekend to give away 100 allow list spots and 5 free mints for our genesis hoodie drop, coming Q1 2024.
A very blurry but very delicious local burrito.
Midday touch base with my mmERCH team; collectively trying to escape the Marfa sun.
New friend. I didn’t catch his name, but feel like it should be Cosmo.
Snuck away to explore some local shops. Lots of amazing vintage silver finds.
Moments before learning that a Tequila Soda in Texas is called “Ranch Water.”
Local vibe.
A stack of squiggle sweaters produced by Tribute Brand in collaboration with generative art legend and Art Blocks founder, Erick Calderon, AKA Snowfro.
So excited to have participated in a generative fashion panel at Glitch Gallery alongside all of these first movers. Pictured with my fellow panelists, from left: Karen Shen of Collab + Currency; Justin Meilillo, founder and CEO of Monaverse; Dani Loftus, Founder of Draup; and Gala Marija Vrbanic, founder and CEO of Tribute Brand.
Seeing artist Tyler Hobbs’ Fidenza Mural in Marfa feels like the generative art equivalent of visiting Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper in Milan.
Arriving at Art Blocks Gallery for a Saturday afternoon farewell fiesta.
A squiggle wall relief at the Art Blocks Gallery. Casual.
The burger line and cocktails – sponsored by mmERCH 😉 – at Art Blocks’ backyard BBQ.
Physical manifestations of Snowfro and Jordan Lyall’s Heart + Craft project. Considered an “inclusive edition,” Heart + Craft is an artistic commentary countering FOMO culture through its high supply and low cost. Furthermore, this digital-first project invites collectors to create a physical counterpart of their unique digital output.
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